New signs posted at LDS plaza following ‘gay kiss’ incident

If you walk through the LDS Church Plaza in Salt Lake City you’ll see some new signs. They put visitors on notice that the Church can refuse access to anyone for any reason.

The added language to the signs address concerns about how the Church notifies those walking through that the thoroughfare is in fact private property. This comes after an incident where church security guards detained a gay couple seen kissing while passing through back in July.

The new signs include a paragraph at the bottom that says “The Church reserves the right to refuse access to any person for any reason.”

A statement from the LDS Church says, “Some additional text was added to the signs on the church plaza at the suggestion of the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s office.”

City Prosecutor Sim Gill says the signs now give visitors fair notice that the ecclesiastical park is private property. He says, “What this notice is trying to do from our perspective is that it’s starting to put people on notice that this is a conditional use, this is not a cart-blanche that you get to come and do whatever you want to do.”